Reality
by Kellifer
Summary: Jack wakes up in hospital and it seems he's not in Kansas anymore... 4th and final chapter now up - story complete.
1. Default Chapter

Dsiclaimer - The characters and events portrayed in Stargate SG1 do not belong to me, but I like them enough to borrow them for stories.

-Reality-

"Jack! WATCH OUT - "

There was terrible pain and then nothingness.

xxxxxx

Jack O'Neill came to with a start. The last thing he remembered was Daniel screaming him a warning as he ran to retrieve Carter, lying motionless. Scarily motionless. She had been in a direct line of fire, out in the open when she went down. Their cover fire had done nothing to deter the shots and he couldn't have just left her out there.

He just couldn't.

So despite all his training, he had run out onto an open plain of fire to drag Carter back to cover and must have... been hit?

He was fuzzy on the details.

Jack looked down at himself. He was wearing soft, cotton white pajamas and he could see fuzzy blue slippers on his feet. He figured he was either in hospital recovering, or in hell. He tried to move an arm and was worried that his limbs weren't responding when his brain finally cottoned on to the fact that he was restrained to the bed with large Velcro straps. He looked about the room slowly, his eyes hurting as if they hadn't been exposed to light in a while. He saw four white walls, one broken by an open door. There was a television riveted to one wall and beside him was a hospital table on wheels with a basin of water and a cloth next to it. He craned his neck so he could see the bed head behind and he saw an IV, which he knew he must have been attached to.

He realized there was a weight on his arm and looked to his left. Beside him was a single chair and a girl slumped in it. He couldn't see who it was. Her head was down on the bed, forehead resting on his arm. She had long blonde hair and was wearing a light jacket. He racked his brain, trying to think whom he knew with long blonde hair that would be sleeping next to him in a hospital and vaguely wondered where Sam, Daniel or Teal'c were. They had developed a kind of tradition over the years, at least one of them keeping a vigil next to the hospital bed of a fallen teammate at all times. He had woken from unconsciousness a number of times, always to one of three faces. He shoved the thought away; scared it would lead to a realization or a remembrance that maybe one or all of them weren't around to keep vigil next to him. He couldn't really remember the details of the firefight. He knew they had been pinned down but Carter had been hit and he suddenly wondered if Daniel had actually been screaming him a warning, or screaming his name for another reason.

He shuddered just thinking about it and the movement jolted the sleeping figure. She looked up and it was Sam.

"Muh..." Jack tried to talk but his throat was dry and only a ragged sound escaped. Sam sat bolt upright, her blue eyes wide.

"Jack? Jack!" Sam exclaimed. "Stay with me this time." She said. He furrowed his brows at her, not really knowing what she meant but something about her was making him worry. The fact that her hair was so long. He wondered vaguely just how long he had been out but his mind skittered away from the thought as urgently as it had the idea that the other members of SG1 hadn't made it.

Jack tried again. "Ca... Carter?" A recognizable word had managed to push passed his resisting throat and Jack didn't understand the hurt look that flittered across her face. It was gone an instant later and the usual 'brave Sam' smile she used when she was upset but trying not to show it replaced it. "Jack, it's Sam. Remember me? Your wife?"

"What?" Jack exclaimed. Darkness washed over his thoughts, drowning him in a sea of unconsciousness.

xxxxxxx

"Hey, welcome back. You scared us there for a second." Jack opened his eyes to a smiling Daniel, relief plain on the younger man's features. Jack looked around quickly. He was in the SGC infirmary, in a bed and not restrained.

"Crap. What a freaky dream." Jack croaked, feeling sleep tugging him down into the depths again. He resisted, but Daniel's hand on his arm and soothing tone telling him to rest lulled him back to sleep.

xxxxxxx

When Jack opened his eyes again, Daniel was still standing over him, but he had on a white lab coat and had a folder in his hands. He was speaking quietly to Sam, the longhaired version. They both looked over and noticed Jack watching them. Jack thought for a dream the whole scenario felt a little too real. He could feel the cotton pajamas and the gentle pressure of the restraints on his body. Sam approached him and leant down to drop a kiss on his forehead and he could feel the gentle touch of her warm lips against his skin.

"Mr. O'Neill." Daniel said, flicking pages.

"Okay, if you guys think this is funny, you won't be finding it so amusing when I get out of these restraints and kick your ass Daniel." Jack grumped. Daniel looked at him with a patient tolerance that Jack didn't like very much. It was a detached look and lacked any of the warmth Daniel usually possessed. It made him look like a different person. "Who do you think this is?" He asked, gesturing towards Sam. She smiled at Jack encouragingly.

"Major Samantha Carter. Got any more dumb questions? Have I got a concussion or something?"

Daniel was shaking his head and Sam looked visibly upset by his response. "Although he's coherent, he's still deeply ensconced in the delusional world." Daniel said and Sam nodded slowly, glancing towards Jack with pain in her eyes.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jack demanded.

Daniel sighed heavily and dropped the clipboard he'd been holding onto the end of Jack's bed. He crossed his arms and his tone was professional. "You've been in a semi-catatonic state for about 2 years now. You come back every now and again but are always claiming to be a Colonel in the Air Force and part of a ... what did he call it?" Daniel looked to Sam.

"Stargate Project." She supplied with a tight smile.

"Yes, part of a team called SG1. You've brought your wife into this delusion as one of the characters. Me also apparently, although I'm a Doctor of Archeology in your little world as opposed to the real world where I'm a psychiatrist whose been treating you ever since you were committed."

"Committed? Are you trying to tell me I'm NUTS?!" Jack exclaimed, barking harsh laughter. Daniel and Sam both looked taken aback by his outburst. "Look, guys, obviously you've both been exposed to some kind of Goul'd brainwashing. Just let me out of these restraints and we'll all get out of here." Jack tried reasoning.

"Right. So, just for arguments sake, let's try something." Daniel said, his tone like that of a person trying to calm a wounded animal. Jack sighed. "Sure. Shoot."

"Okay. So, scenario one, my version. You had a breakdown after the death of your son. Your wife committed you to a mental health care facility and you invented a dream world to escape from the harsh reality. Every now and again you come out of a near catatonic state and tell us about aliens and the adventures you have saving the world." Daniel said and held up a hand when Jack opened his mouth to comment. "Your version. You are part of a team of four people who travel to different worlds through a metal ring via means of science that you have admitted that you don't understand. Also an alien has brainwashed Samantha and I to believe that you are actually making all this up in an attempt to... I don't know what."

Jack blinked. "When you put it like that, it does sound... kinda crazy." Jack said warily.

"Look Mr. O'Neill. Every time we have a breakthrough, you kill me off in your delusion. How many times can a man die and be resurrected, honestly?" Daniel smiled. "Although I do appreciate you bringing me back."

Jack felt a sharp pain in his arm. A nurse had come into the room while he was distracted and a syringe had been depressed before he could react. "No.." He protested weakly.

"Get some rest. We can start again tomorrow."

xxxxxxx

"Hey Sir. You passed out again." Sam was smiling at him. She had on a black t-shirt and cammo pants and her hair was short. Her hand touched his forehead lightly and he didn't know whether she was checking for fever or merely trying to comfort.

"I think I'm going crazy Carter." Jack sighed.

"Listen Sir, the doctors think you were drugged when we were on P34-XCY. That's probably why you keep passing out. Apparently it's a strong hallucinogen. You keep talking in your sleep. Something about being brainwashed and in hospital." Sam was running her thumb lightly over his forehead, back and forth and Jack realized she was just trying to keep her with him, awake and alert. The touch was anchoring him and he could focus while her hand connected to his skin.

"I keep flashing back to a hospital and Daniel's a shrink and he keeps trying to tell me that I made up the SGC and everything about it because I had some kind of break down. You're there and you look upset every time I call you Carter." Jack felt the now familiar blackness creeping back in on him. He bit into the skin on his cheek to try and stave it off but he felt himself slipping. Sam looked concerned and when she stood to call for a Doctor, her fingers stopped touching him and he felt the last cable break between him and the waking world.

xxxxxxxx

"The mind is a complex and wonderful thing and it came up with a reason to support your delusion." Jack had been allowed out of the restraints and now threw an arm over his eyes with a groan. "For cryin' out loud Daniel-"

"Doctor Jackson."

"Daniel. This here." Jack said, thumping the bed he was sitting on. "This is the delusion. Carter explained it. It's a pretty nasty delusion when you have the power to put me in restraints." Jack sighed, kicking the slippers off his feet with a grunt of distaste.

Sam entered the room and Daniel gave her an exasperated look before leaving. She crossed the room and stood so that Jack's legs rested on either side of her hips. Jack couldn't help but think how well she fit in that space and how it had seemed natural and right that she did. In the real world, Jack thought, either Sam or he would have pulled away. While he noticed that when sharing a joke with Teal'c she would place her hand on his shoulder and she would always be quick to hug Daniel, she touched him very rarely with the same easy affection, as if every slight touch pained her too much. There was none of the same reservation with this Sam and he found himself almost hoping that the place he was in now could be the actual reality.

Sam brought her arms up and rested them on his shoulders, her fingers lacing through the hair at the nape of his neck. "Is this world so horrible that you need to escape it?" She asked, a deep abiding sadness in her gaze. Jack's heart hurt to hear her say those words. It was all he could do to not give in completely to this delusion, to pull Sam into his arms and forsake any ties to the other world, but he knew that he couldn't. Sam's eyes were searching his own, trying to figure him out.

"If I could keep this world and you, I would... but it's not real." He said. Sam winced and Jack again felt his heart ache for her. "Even if it was the real world, I don't think I belong here anymore. The other place needs me more. I need to look after Daniel, the non-pompous other Daniel, he's likely to get himself killed... again." Jack said, his eyes ticking to the ceiling. "Also Teal'c. Who else is going to correct his mixed metaphors?" Jack's eyes finally returned to Sam's. It would be such an easy thing to lean forward and kiss her, they were mere inches apart, but for some reason Jack knew that doing so would mean truly forsaking the other world he had lived in for so long, breaking all the rules he had adhered to for so long. "And then there's you. Without me, you'd never get out of that lab you love so much. I'm yet to have you agree to go fishing."

"I'll go fishing with you." Sam said, pleading in her tone. "Just don't go away again."

"I... have to. I have to believe that this is the fantasy, and I'm going to wake up from it. The other place is the world I'm going to have to live in." Jack felt the now familiar blackness encroaching on him. He smiled, already feeling light-headed. "Ah, screw it." He said and brought his arms up and around Sam, crushing her against his body. They did fit together, he thought vaguely as he felt himself let go of the world where he was crazy, and Sam was crazy too.

She had to have been to marry him.

xxxxxxx

"... that it's all the way out now?" Jack faded back in to hear Sam's voice. He opened his eyes and she was standing in the doorway of his room, talking to a doctor. He felt a hand in his shoulder and looked up to see Daniel standing by his bed. "Hey sleepyhead. Ready to join us this time?" He said. Sam was nodding at the Doctor and then she walked into the room, smiling. "Apparently the Doctors have been able to flush the drug out of your system. You should be able to stay awake now." Sam was grinning.

"Doctor Jackson to the embarkation room." A voice over the loudspeaker called. Daniel grunted in annoyance and then looked to Jack. "Damn. I've gotta go. I'll come and see you when I get back." He said, patting Jack on the shoulder and giving Sam's arm a squeeze on his way past. Jack and Sam were now alone in the room together. Jack sat up slowly and rubbed his head. "Sir? Are you feeling yourself?" Sam asked, worry creasing her brow. Jack gave her a reassuring smile.

"Come here for a sec, I want to try something." He said, holding out a hand to Sam. Sam smiled warily and let her arm be taken. Jack pulled her to him so she was standing between his legs. He realized this would be the only position where they would be eye to eye. Sam tensed when she was brought so close to him. "Sir, are you sure you're ok?" She asked. Jack got the feeling that Sam felt trapped by their close proximity. He realized that they would never have the easy affection she and Daniel shared only because of the underlying feelings.

"I'm fine Carter." He said, releasing her. Sam immediately took a step back.

"So, when am I allowed out of here?"


	2. Reality Chapter 2

Disclaimer - I do not own the characters or circumstances portrayed on Stargate SG1 and have no monetary gain from these stories, other than trading them for rent… it's a long story.

-Reality-

-Chapter 2-

He awoke with a start, disorientated and a fuzzyheaded. He didn't actually know where he was and it scared him. After the events of the last couple of days with Jack, anything out of the ordinary worried him. Daniel heard a soft sigh beside him and then someone rolled over and an arm snaked over his chest.

"Eeeeek!" Daniel squealed, leaping out of the bed. He got tangled up in the sheets and thumped to the floor heavily, jarring his elbow. A light flicked on in the room and a head appeared over the side of the bed, looking down at him. He didn't have his glasses on so he couldn't make out whom it was but it almost looked like -

"Daniel, what on earth are you doing?" Janet was blinking at him sleepily, amusement and concern warring for precedence on her face. "Jesus!" Daniel exclaimed, reaching up and pulling Janet clear off the bed on top of him. She squealed in surprise as he hugged her to himself, wrapping both arms and legs around her body. "Janet! Jesus… Janet!" Daniel felt tears streaming down his face but he didn't care. He was holding Janet. Janet who had died so horribly and so unfairly.

Janet.

"Daniel what's wrong?" Janet cried, worry in her voice. She could feel him shaking with sobs against her body. "Oh god, was it a really bad nightmare?" She said, wrapping her arms around his body and hugging him to herself, almost as fiercely as he was hugging her.

"You… died… you were dead." Daniel choked out and Janet gasped slightly, and then started making soothing noises, running her hands up and down Daniel's back. "It's okay Daniel, it was all just a bad dream." She whispered over and over. She pried his arms from around her and got back up onto the bed, pulling him with her. They lay back down, Daniel's head on her chest. He could hear the steady thumping of her heart and it made him deliriously happy.

"No more weird sandwiches before bed." Janet chided softly, running her fingers through Daniel's hair. "Every time you have that god awful banana on toast creation of yours we go through this."

"Wait… we?" Daniel suddenly realised where he was. He had been so happy to have Janet actually alive that all other thoughts had been drowned out. He raised his head and looked to the side table and was relieved to see the glint of his glasses. He pulled them on and then looked around the room he was in. It looked like he was in a large attic room. The walls and floors were white, but instead of being stark, they were warmed by rugs, cushions and paintings dotted around the room. There was a large two-seater sofa against the wall near the door and bookshelves lining two other walls, leaving only the wall that the bed was pressed up against.

Daniel looked to the side table again and could see a book with his favourite battered bookmark wedged into it halfway through. There was a photo in a silver frame of his parents and wedged into a corner of the picture was a strip of photos from a cheesy passport booth. The photos were a series of Janet and him. One laughing. One with them poking their tongues out at the camera. One where they were kissing.

"What is this?" Daniel breathed.

xxxxxxx

"So far as we can tell, it might be from skin contact with you Sir." The Doctor, a man who's name Jack couldn't quite recall, was looking everywhere but in the Colonel's face. No one liked being the bearer of bad news, especially to Jack O'Neill.

"Wait… I touched him while he was under as well. Does that mean it's going to happen to me?" Sam asked, anxiety in her tone. She knew Jack had been through a pretty rough couple of days and he was refusing to talk about it. It seemed now Daniel was afflicted with the same hallucinogen and she really didn't want to go through it too. Daniel looked drawn and pale lying on the hospital bed, and unlike Jack, he hadn't regained consciousness at all since he collapsed earlier that day. That reminded her.

"Jack was coming in and out of it. Daniel's been out cold for hours." Sam looked toward Daniel. He was in a makeshift oxygen tent, as the doctors believed the drug could be transmitted through direct contact with the skin. She ached to sit by him and hold his hand as she had done for Jack.

"We don't know I'm sorry. We knew enough to try flushing the drugs out of Doctor Jackson's system the same as the Colonels, but we have no idea why he hasn't come to at all." The Doctor shrugged.

Sam turned and pressed her hands against the barrier between herself and Daniel. "C'mon Daniel. Come back to us."

xxxxxx

"Daniel?' Daniel started at the voice from the kitchen doorway. He saw Sam standing in pyjamas and he closed the fridge door with a snap. "Sam? What are you -?" He stuttered to a halt as Sam turned sideways to flip the light switch on and he could see that she was pregnant.

Very pregnant.

"I usually don't find you up at this time of night. If I hear the fridge door open it's usually Janet." She smiled, wandering over and reaching up to rub Daniel's hair affectionately. "What are you doing here?" Daniel asked. Sam grinned, opening the freezer door and reaching in. "Ben and Jerrys was calling to me." She sighed, retrieving a small tub of ice cream and closing the door.

"No, I mean, what are you doing 'here'?" Daniel reiterated, not quite prepared to ask about the pregnancy yet. His mind reeled just thinking about it, and whose baby it was.

"Wow… you and Jack do actually forget Janet's and my existence sometimes don't you?" She said, smiling and rummaging around the utensil drawer for a spoon. "It's a good thing I have Janet to keep me company when you guys are offworld. You might actually forget to come home one of these days."

"Sam? Are you okay?" A sleepy voice issued from the other kitchen doorway. Jack was rubbing a fist into his eye. He was wearing nothing but tracksuit bottoms and his dog tags and he started when he saw Daniel. "Ah, I finally catch you two. I thought there'd been some monkey business behind my back." He grinned. He crossed the room and dropped into the chair next to Sam, leaning over and dipping his finger into her ice cream. She smacked his hand, laughing.

She and Jack looked up, finally realised that Daniel was just standing next to the fridge, his mouth open, staring at both of them. Jack raised a hand and waved it in front of Daniel's gaze. "Daniel? Yo, Danny boy."

xxxxx

"Danny boy!" Daniel opened his eyes. He was in the SGC infirmary and he'd heard his name called. His whole body felt leaden and he looked sideways. He didn't have his glasses on and thought that was why he couldn't see Jack properly, but when he reached out he realised there was a sheet of plastic between them.

"Hey big guy! Stay with us now." Jack said. It was disconcerting Daniel to see a blob and hear Jack's voice issuing from it. "Jack? What happened?" He remembered being shocked, mystified and deliriously happy all at the same time. "Ah… I think I infected you with that drug… sorry." Jack said. His voice was jovial but apologetic and Daniel assumed he was probably grinning. Then something occurred to him.

"Jack… is Janet dead?" He asked. He heard Jack sigh heavily and then he saw the blob move from side to side before the plastic rustled and suddenly Jack was actually by his side. "Oh geez, kid." He said, taking Daniel's hand. "It seems real doesn't it?"

Daniel felt like he was learning about Janet's death all over again and his heart hurt. He felt blackness swallowing him and he welcomed it. He could feel Jack shaking him, but he released his hold on the waking world.

xxxxx

Sam was in Jack's lap and he had his arms circled around her, one hand resting on her 'buddha belly' as he called it. Sam's head was on Jack's shoulder and she was sleeping soundly. Jack's head was thrown back and the gentle snores issuing from him confirmed that he was sleeping also. Daniel looked down and Janet's head was cradled in his lap and his hand was entwined in her hair. He could hear the gentle breathing that meant she was also sleeping. There was snow on the television and Daniel knew that they must have all fallen asleep watching something.

He felt so comfortable and content here and he knew it wasn't real. He looked down at Janet's face. There was peace there. He remembered the last time he had actually looked down into her lovely face. It had lost all its life and vitality. "Janet." He said softly. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling. "Did I miss much?" She asked.

"Why didn't we do this?" Daniel asked, twisting one tendril of Janet's hair around his index finger. He'd once held her hand in comfort and had felt a jolt… but the time hadn't been right to ask her out. The time had never seemed right. "Do what?" Janet looked confused.

"Why don't they do that?" Daniel added, gesturing towards Sam and Jack. "It might be too late for us but goddamit, it's not too late for them." Sam and Jack, nestled together, fit like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Daniel had known that the two were attracted to each other, but he had never truly realised how _right_ they were.

Janet sat up to look into Daniel's eyes. She cupped his face with her hands. "I love you, but you've lost me." She said. Daniel took her hands into his own. He could feel her warm breath on his face and he couldn't believe this wasn't _real_. He wished so desperately for it to be. He was happy here. Janet was alive here. Sam and Jack were _together_ here.

"I just wish… I'd done this before." He said, and smiled. Janet laughed and lay back down. "Well, it did take you 7 years to get up the courage to ask me out Doctor Jackson." She said. Her voice grew softer and he knew she was already falling asleep.

"I mean, before you died." He added in a whisper.

xxxxxxx

Daniel opened his eyes to the concerned face of Teal'c.

"DanielJackson. I was worried that you would not awake." He said. Daniel noticed the oxygen tent had been taken down and he felt relief, and a little sadness. He knew he wasn't going back to that other place.

"Where are Jack and Sam?" Daniel asked. He wanted to talk to them, to tell them it was crazy that they weren't together. Who knew what would happen tomorrow, or a week from now, or a month? He knew they would probably get all uncomfortable and defensive, but Daniel was used to at least Jack being like that whenever he talked to him.

Teal'c sighed and took a step sideways. Daniel turned his head and could see Sam lying on a bed, a plastic sheet blocking her off from the rest of the room. Jack was sitting beside her, _inside _the tent. Every now and then a doctor would wander passed, a concerned look on their faces.

"Oh crap." Daniel sighed.


	3. Reality Chapter 3

Disclaimer - I don't own the characters or events portrayed in Stargate SG1 and make no monetary game from them, other than to swap the my stories for rent.

-Reality-

-Part 3-

Sam knew this probably wasn't real, couldn'tbe real, but she hadn't expected it to _feel _so real.

She knew logically that she was at an advantage because she was aware of what was going on. Jack had gone through this and Daniel had still been out for the count when she finally succumbed, but she was tempted to throw logic out the window.

_Really _tempted.

She was sitting on his roof, his telescope in front of her and her feet propped up on the railing. A glass of wine was in one hand and a pen was in the other. There was a leather bound journal in her lap and although she knew it must have been hers, she still felt like she would be invading someone else's privacy to open it. They had dealt with alternate realities before and she was worried that she had shunted some other Sam out of her existence for a time. Some whole other person.

She had to admit she was jealous of what this Sam's life seemed to be.

She could feel the gentle breeze on her skin and the slight buzz she was getting from the wine. She didn't understand how this could be all some kind of hallucination. She looked down at her toes and there was cracked red polish on them. She smiled though because her feet were tan. She thought she must see the outside world a lot more in that place.

"Hey, Jack said I could find you up here." Sam looked up, startled out of her reverie and nearly fell off her chair. Janet was halfway up the balcony stairs, smiling at her like it was the most normal thing in the world. Sam felt the wineglass slip out of her fingers and it smashed onto the decking, splashing her feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Janet exclaimed, laughing. "I'll get a towel."

"No! Come here a sec." Sam said, standing. She trod carefully around the broken glass and grabbed Janet, pulling her into a firm hug. "Are you okay?" Janet asked, concern in her tone. Sam smiled and pulled back. "Just… really good to see you is all." She said.

"Okay… if you're sure." Janet still looked concerned, but mollified. She disappeared down the stairs. Sam turned back and reached across for the journal that had fallen out of her lap. As she picked it up she caught sight of the last sentence on the page she must have just been writing in.

_How do I tell him?_

All concerns for the _other_ Sam went out the window and she flicked open the journal to the last page.

_He has said so many times that he doesn't want another child… that it would be too painful… that he's too old. I should've been more careful._

Sam snapped the book shut, dread waking deep inside her. She lay a hand on her stomach, and then couldn't help but laugh at herself. Did she expect to feel something move? Her brow furrowed. She had always had a flat stomach, but there was definitely more of a roundness to it. A thrill of happiness chased quickly away by what she had written in her journal passed through her. Was it true? She had no real idea.

What did it matter, she thought, it's all a dream. She felt hot tears rise within her and she tried to squash them but they flooded out anyway. Daniel had appeared at the bottom of the stairs and he came up to her, concern plain on his features. "Sam, what's -?" He started, then seemed to think better of it and just reached out and pulled her into a hug. She collapsed into him, grateful for the comfort and for the familiarity of him. He smelled like the same old Daniel, a mix of clean linen and old books. A smell she associated with Home. She wondered again how what she was experiencing could be something other than reality.

xxxxx

Jack had been glared out, lectured and cajoled, but he still hadn't left Sam's side. The Doctors had finally given up on moving him, instead checking on him every now and again to make sure he was still awake and alert.

He was sitting inside the makeshift oxygen tent they had set up around Sam's infirmary bed. Sam had been under for about six hours, and although he knew he had taken the better part of three days to come around properly, he still wished Sam would hurry up and get better.

Jack reached a hand out and started stroking Sam's forehead gently with his thumb, much as she had done for him.

"I hope I'm being nice to you in there." He sighed.

xxxxxx

"Are you nuts, he'll be ecstatic."

Daniel was now sitting on the balcony step next to Sam, one of her hands held in between his. She had poured out her heart and he had listened patiently, as he always did and now tried to reassure her. "I know he's a grumpy old man but he loves you and he'll love this." Daniel said, gesturing towards Sam's stomach. She grinned, her tears having dried up as she had talked.

"Love what?" Jack was standing at the bottom of the step, two beers in his hands. He held one out towards Daniel who leant forward to take it with a nod. Sam gave Daniel a quick, pleading look and he sighed. "That we're running away together to Hawaii to live in a hut on the beach. I hope you and Janet don't mind." Daniel replied breezily. Jack snorted. "Don't make me get my gun, Danny." Jack said.

Later that night, after a lot of bbq had been eaten and a lot of beer drunk, Sam entered their bedroom and couldn't help but smile. Jack had face-planted on their bed, still fully clothed and with his boots on. She started unlacing his boots and pulled them off. Jack grumbled and turned over, blinking at her blearily. "C'mere." He growled, sitting up and grabbing Sam by the arms, pulling her onto the bed on top of him. Sam laughed. Jack rolled them over so his head was on Sam's chest and he sighed, throwing one arm and one leg over her body. "I think I'm a bit drunk Major." He said groggily.

"Jack, I think I'm pregnant." Sam said. She waited for Jack to say something but there was only silence in the room. "Jack?" Sam prodded the top of his head and she only got a gentle snore in response. "I'd have to agree with that assessment Colonel." She grumbled.

She didn't know what time it was but the sun wasn't up yet when she felt herself being shaken awake. Sam fought her way up from sleep. Sam opened her eyes and Jack was sitting up, shaking her shoulder. "You said something." He whispered. She groaned and tried to roll away from him but Jack grabbed her shoulders and turned her back to face him. "Before I passed out, you said something… what was it?" Jack demanded. "You mean about being pregnant?" Sam hadn't meant to say it quite so matter-of-factly, but she was still half asleep and it was out of her mouth before her brain could catch it.

Jack blinked at Sam for a second, his mouth open. Sam sat up slowly, not really sure what the expression on Jack's face was telling her. She reached up and poked him in the shoulder and he seemed to snap out of his daze. "Yeah!" Jack exclaimed, launching himself at Sam. She squealed as she was lifted bodily into a huge hug. The feeling of joy that thrilled through her as she felt Jack hug her close, shaking with a mix of tears and laughter was indescribable and all her concerns vanished.

xxxxxx

"She's coding!"

Jack was shoved unceremoniously out of the way and the plastic sheet ripped down that kept Sam separate from the rest of the infirmary. Doctors and nurses swarmed around her as the chilling sound of a heart flatlining echoed through the place. Jack felt a hand on his shoulder and looked sideways at Daniel and Teal'c who had appeared. "What happened?" Daniel said, his gaze locked on the medical team working on Sam, fear etched on his features.

"I don't know… she was fine…" Jack said, his voice hollow.

xxxxxx

"What's that noise?" Sam asked. There was a faint buzzing sound in her ears that was preventing her from going back to sleep. She was lying with her back pressed against Jack's stomach and him completely folded around her. He had been running his hand up and down her arm, lulling her to sleep.

The buzzing was getting more insistent and she thought it sounded like someone flatlining. She shoved the thought away but it rose up again… reminding her of something she wanted to forget.

"No…." She breathed. She realised she had slowly but surely been letting go of the other place, the other world she belonged to. In this place Janet was safe, Daniel was happy and she and Jack were finally together. She had pushed the knowledge that none of it was real to the back of her mind and just for a little while that night, she had forgotten.

She started when she noticed someone standing in the corner of the bedroom and she realised it was Jack, although she could feel Jack still pressed up against her. "You really letting go Carter?" He asked, his voice thick. Sam sat up and looked behind her. Jack was still sleeping in the bed. When she turned back to the corner of the room, the other Jack was gone.

The steady beep was becoming louder in her ears and she could feel herself getting colder. She turned back to the sleeping Jack. His face was smoothed in sleep, worry gone. This Jack was in a happier place.

He didn't need her like the other one did.

With that thought, she felt warmth flood through her body and blackness claim her.

xxxxx

"You worried us." Daniel was helping Sam into her coat. She was still a little groggy but she had been given the all-clear and was allowed to go home. Daniel had volunteered to take her and stay with her to make sure she was really okay. Sam hadn't seen Jack at all since she'd woken up.

They walked the halls of the SGC together, heading towards the elevator. Sam was feeling hurt and confused. She had been sure that Jack would be the first person she saw when she opened her eyes and although she loved seeing Teal'c beside her, it had hurt.

She had asked Daniel a couple of times where Jack had disappeared to but he had been evasive and she had finally given up, gratefully accepting his offer to take her home. All she wanted to do was get into her pyjamas and sleep in her own bed.

And not dream at all.

The arrived at the elevator and Daniel pushed the up button. Sam thought she should give it one more try. "So, Daniel - "

"No Sam." Daniel sighed, watching the numbers tick down to their floor. He was carefully avoiding her gaze and that worried her. She used an age-old Jackism. "Dammit Daniel!"

The elevator doors had swished open and a grin had cracked on Daniel's face. Sam was still facing him, her arms crossed, looking exasperated. He looked at her and smiled, making a shooing gesture with his hands. "Off you go." He said. She was confused and then turned.

Jack was standing in the elevator, dressed in civvies, one hand out toward her.

"C'mon Sam." He said. "Time to go home."


	4. Reality Part 4

Disclaimer - I don't own the characters or the SGC. They could come and live at my house anytime though… especially since I pay my rent with stories…

-Reality-

-Part 4 - Final Chapter -

He had held her hand all the way up in the elevator. He had held her hand crossing the car park and had only released it when he handed her up into the cab of his truck. When he got in the other side, he had twined a piece of the fabric of her shirt between his fingers before he'd put his hand on the truck's gear shift.

He had been silent the whole time and Sam felt like she would break some kind of spell if she spoke. She had opened her mouth a couple of times, but didn't really know where to begin. As he drove he didn't look at her. She sat silent as well, looking out the window, watching the world go by, the tiny tug of her shirt when she shifted an anchor that made her smile.

They pulled up and it was his place. It was tidier than she remembered from the last time they had gathered to bbq and have beer. She smiled, remembering. It was shortly after Daniel had returned and everything had been good for while. It was before Janet had…

She shoved the thought away. She heard the door on his side open and she pushed hers open too, but he was there to take her hand again and she could feel herself grinning and couldn't stop. "Colonel - " She began. She felt silly calling him by his rank when he was leading her into his house by the hand, but she didn't know what else to do. He looked back at her and there was a silent command on his face. No speaking. His pupils were large and dark despite the bright day, making his eyes look almost black and she felt gooseflesh break out on her skin.

She thought he was leading her into the lounge room but they walked straight through it and headed into his bedroom. It was a comfortable looking room, sparsely furnished but with a large bed. The whole room was done in creams and browns. So male, Sam thought.

Jack finally stopped and turned to face her. "Sir - " She began again but Jack sighed, cupped her face between his two hands and kissed her firmly and thoroughly for a long time.

Sam completely forgot what she was going to say.

xxxxx

Sam awoke with a start and for a second she thought she was back in the SGC infirmary and all she could see was black. She felt a moment of panic, but then realised that she was actually pressed up against Jack's back, her forehead against his shoulder. She was now dressed in one of his old flannel shirts and thought it was more comfortable than her pyjamas could have possibly been. She could feel Jack's gentle breathing and hear his heartbeat through his back. She thought the gentle thump-thump was the most reassuring sound she had ever heard.

Sam rolled onto her back and brought her arms up, looking at the flannel shirtsleeves. One cuff was frayed and one had a large hole in it. She poked her thumb through the hole and wiggled it. She knew she was probably grinning like a fool again.

"Where did that nice back blankie go?" Jack grumbled, rolling over to face her. He dropped one arm across her stomach and pulled her closer, snuggling his chin into her neck. Sam squirmed. "Quit that! You have, like, 18 o'clock shadow." She protested weakly, trying to push him away. Jack laughed and rubbed harder. Sam finally managed to extricate herself and rolled away again so she could face him.

"Uh oh, you've got your serious face on." Jack sighed, reaching out and tugging Sam's cheek with a rough hand. She slapped his hand away, but smiled. "You didn't really tell me what your hallucination was about." She said. Jack had glossed over most of the details. He'd mentioned something about being in hospital but none of the specifics. "Um… no I didn't." He said and rolled away from Sam so she was facing his back again.

"Oh no you don't." She grabbed his shoulder and forced him back over. She slid across him and sat up so he was pinned. "I'm in your shirt… in your _bed_. I think you can tell me." She said. Jack grinned, a hand sliding under the bottom of the flannel shirt she was wearing. "Less talk… more rumpy-pumpy." He said. Sam smacked him on the forehead. "Hey, eyes here." She said, pointing at her own.

Jack sighed heavily. "Okay, okay. I was in hospital, but it was a mental hospital. Daniel was a doctor, the head-shrinker kind, and he kept trying to tell me that the SGC and everything in it was made up and that I'd had a breakdown or something. I was _pretty _sure that wasn't true… but there was this little part of my mind that wanted it to be true… you know?" Jack said, his eyes ticking away from Sam's. She followed his gaze and there was a picture in a frame she'd never noticed before on Jack's desk by his door.

It was a picture of SG1 returning from a mission and Janet was in it as well. Daniel still had the shaggy hair and a bandana was on his head to tame it. He'd obviously only just grabbed Janet and she was laughing as he was hugging her into frame. Teal'c was standing, solid and serious as always, but as Sam looked at the picture she noticed that one of Teal'c's arms was behind Jack and she could see two dark fingers being held up behind Jack's head in the classic 'bunny ears'. Jack had one hand on Teal'c's shoulder and his other arm was slung around her neck and she was smiling up at him.

"Why?" Sam said absently, still looking at the picture. "Why would you want to stay in a place where people think you're crazy?"

"God, a million reasons. Because I don't think the Goul'd were a threat. Because Janet was probably still alive and working in some hospital. Because Daniel mustn't have been through so much other than boredom and because…" He trailed off.

"Because?"

"Because you were my wife and you looked so goddam hurt every time I called you Carter." He said in a rush. Sam blinked. Jack captured both her hands in one of his. "Your turn. Tell me all Major." He said, his face brightening. Sam opened her mouth and then closed it. She tried again. "Well, Janet was still… and she and Daniel were very cute together. We were together and we were happy." Sam had meant to say it but it just hadn't come out.

_I was pregnant_.

She didn't know why her brain clamped down on those three little words. "So, no crazy house for you eh?" Jack asked, waggling his eyebrows. Sam smiled but something in Jack's face told her he had read that she was keeping something back. She took a deep breath. "I'd just found out I was pregnant." She said, laughing hollowly. She saw the smile fade from Jack's face and Sam was worried that she'd just wounded him deeply. She didn't want him to shut down.

Then Jack's face cleared and it was like the sun coming out and warming her.

"Well, we'd better get started on making those hallucinations true so we can claim we were foretelling the future instead of just dreaming." Jack grinned, pulling Sam down so she was lying against him. Sam rested her head on his chest and he folded his arms over her. "You want to end up in a mental hospital?"

"Bound to. Any kids I have that take after you are going to drive me crazy." He said with a laugh. Sam smiled, but then a terrible thought occurred to her and she sat up quickly.

"What if - ?"

"No."

"But it's a possibility..."

"No! We're both awake. This is real." Jack said sternly. "That's an order, Carter."

"Yes… what do I call you?" Sam smiled.

"Call me Sir." Jack grinned, flicking open the first button on Sam's shirt.

"Jerk." Sam snapped.

"That works too."


End file.
